Description: The Pilot Projects Program is designed to meet three goals: 1) to support new investigators who show promise in becoming valuable assets to the Center; 2) to support established Center Investigators for exploratory projects of a highly innovative nature that are likely to attract new outside funding and; 3) to enhance interaction and collaboration of faculty both within and outside of the Center. The program is publicized by announcements to Center members, individual contact to nonmembers, and through departments throughout the campus. Applications are submitted once a year, reviewed by two scientists from outside the Center with ultimate funding decisions being made by the CRED Executive Committee. Applications are ranked based on scientific merit, relevance to Center goals, potential for extramural funding, and collaboration among Center members. Individual grants are generally $15,000 for 1 year up to $20,000. The Pilot Projects program will be modified in the future funding period by inviting applications that will target the following areas: animal model development, functional genomics, and molecular epidemiology.